Guest speaking in class at Kushiro Junior High School, affiliated to the Hokkaido University of Education [Japan]
On 28th September and 7th October, SEEDS Asia was invited to speak to students of Grade 8 at the Kushiro Junior High School, affiliated to the Hokkaido University of Education.
This series of classes was planned by the teachers with the hope that their students would look at the world through the lens of disaster risk reduction. They reached out to JICA, and in consideration of SEEDS Asia’s previous JICA projects in disaster risk reduction in the Philippines, JICA Kansai referred us to the school.
In the first class, a teacher posed a question to the students: “What do you think SEEDS Asia’s disaster risk reduction initiatives are like, as part of international cooperation between the Philippines and Japan?” to which some students answered: “Aren’t they building or reinforcing structures to be disaster-resilient?” SEEDS Asia, in response, explained our emphasis on “capacity building of individuals” so that individuals are able to make decisions and help one another in situations when structures are damaged by disasters. Students also learned that the important lesson from the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake was self-help and mutual help in saving lives. Some students commented: “Even building disaster-resilient structures requires capacitated individuals.”
The second class was a Q&A session. Many of the questions were about Saki Arima, the guest speaker’s experience through the work of SEEDS Asia, which indicates the students’ interest in the field of international cooperation and disaster risk reduction. One student asked a very crucial question: “Is there anything that we can do?” to which Arima answered: “Own your feelings and extend thoughts about what is happening in the world. Be aware of your own privilege, be in others’ shoes, and be a critical thinker, so you will not leave behind people with socially constructed vulnerability. For example, you may feel that you know a bit about disaster risk reduction in the Philippines through my talk, but you may find out otherwise if you go to the Philippines and hear what the local people have to say. Please remember, what someone says might not always be the right answer.”
Our emphasis made during the classes was on capacitating individuals, and the classes themselves are an important part of capacity building of youth. We sincerely thank the people who provided this wonderful opportunity for SEEDS Asia: Professor Kazuko Otsu at Hokkaido University of Education, teachers at Kushiro Junior High Affiliated School of Hokkaido University of Education, their students, and JICA Kansai.